Last Tuesday, November 4th, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution condemning the most recent Islamophobic advertisements placed on San Francisco buses.
Board President David Chiu introduced and sponsored the resolution, which was also co-sponsored by Supervisor Eric Mar. The resolution reiterates the condemnation in a similar resolution passed last year, sending a clear message that San Francisco’s elected leaders stand against hate and Islamophobia and stand with the Arab and Muslim communities.
SEE: Resolution standing with Muslim and Arab communities
The group underwriting the ads, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), has sued several U.S. cities for the First Amendment right to place the ads. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has classified AFDI as a hate group and its founder, Pamela Geller, as an anti-Muslim extremist.
In August of 2012, San Franciscans were outraged over AFDI advertisements on MUNI that referred to Arabs and Muslims as “savages.” These are the group’s sixth such ads in San Francisco in the two years.
The new advertisements are even more offensive than those placed before because they assert that all Muslims are defined by extremism and violence. The ads also baselessly target Arab and Muslim San Franciscans who make invaluable contributions to the city’s life and culture.
Board President David Chiu said: “The City is once again sending a strong and clear message that there is no place for hateful speech in San Francisco. I’m proud to stand with our Arab and Muslim American families to embrace diversity, tolerance and love, not hate and bigotry.”
“San Francisco leaders have responded to these hateful advertisements by continuing to stand with our Arab and Muslim communities in condemning Islamophobia and racist speech, but we will also need to closely monitor whether any hate incidents occur because of this speech and San Francisco leaders will have to respond to any such incidents by protecting these communities,” said Nasrina Bargzie, Staff Attorney at Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus.
“Our city officials have truly shown leadership in standing up to bigotry,” said Zahra Billoo, CAIR-SFBA Executive Director. “As these advertisements continue to flood our neighborhoods we will be closely monitoring their effects and will respond as necessary and within the protections the law affords to speech in order to protect our communities.”
In response to the 2012 advertisements, and at the request of 75 organizations and 35 leaders who spoke out following the first round of ads in August, proceeds from the earlier offensive advertisements were donated to fund a city-wide study on the impact of discrimination on Arab and Muslim communities. The project is ongoing.
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus was founded in 1972 as the nation’s first legal and civil rights Asian American organization. Recognizing that social, economic, political and racial inequalities continue to exist in the United States, ALC is committed to the pursuit of equality and justice for all sectors of our society, with a specific focus directed toward addressing the needs of low-income, immigrant and underserved Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The Asian Law Caucus is a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice.